The Effect of IPS-MA- A Modified Early Supported Employment Intervention for Individuals With Mood or Anxiety Disorders

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The aim of the present study, is to evaluate the effect of a supported employment intervention, IPS-modified for people with mood and anxiety (IPS-MA) on employment or education, when offered to people with onset mood or anxiety disorders who are not likely to be able to return to work within three month.

The hypothesis is that the IPS-MA method is associated with a shorter recovery period and more people returning to work or education, compared to treatment as usual.

Background: The IPS-MA method is a modified Individual Placement and Support (IPS) intervention, aiming at supporting people with mood or anxiety disorders regain their workability and return to work or education. Previous studies have showed, that IPS has an effect on employment when offered to people with severe mental illness. Further studies are crucial to demonstrate whether the modified IPS, the IPS-MA method, has an effect when offered to people with mood or anxiety disorders who are not yet chronified.

Methods/design:The trial design is a randomized, assessor-blinded, clinical trial of the IPS-MA method in addition to treatment as usual compared to treatment as usual alone for 326 participants diagnosed with a mood or anxiety disorder, living in the Capital Region of Denmark. The primary outcome is competitive employment or education. Secondary outcomes are days of competitive employment or education, disease symptoms, level of functioning, and quality of life at follow-up 12 and 24 months after baseline.

IPS-MA - A Randomized Clinical Trial Examining the Effect of a Modified IPS Intervention in Addition to Treatment as Usual Versus Treatment as Usual Alone for Individuals With Mood or Anxiety Disorders

The IPS-MA method consists of five basic services for the participants. 1)Individual mentor support, based on psychiatric knowledge. 2)Coordination by the mentor of activities, internal as well as from external providers. 3)Career counseling aimed at people with mental illnesses. 4)Impartial help to clarify private economy. 5) Contact to employers to help participants obtain jobs, and keep them.

Participants will receive the IPS-MA method in addition to treatment as usual.

Behavioral: The IPS-MA method

During the first 6 months participants are usually offered 3 meetings with their mentor per month, lasting approximately 1 1/2 hours each. The following 6 months they are offered 1 meeting per month, lasting approximately 1 hour. The estimated duration of the IPS-MA intervention is 12 months, but since the needs of the participants are very individual, this may vary.

Other Name: IPS-modified for people recently diagnosed with mood or anxiety disorders (IPS-MA)

No Intervention: Control group

Participants randomised to the control group will receive "treatment as usual" only. This means the standard support offered by the social- and health services in Denmark.

Competitive employment includes being on rehabilitation benefits, flexible jobs and wage subsidy job. Information on employment and education will be extracted from the DREAM database. This database is administered by The National Labour Market Authority and contains information on employment, sickness leave, educations eligible to state education grant, pre-vocational training, disability pension, social security, and sickness benefits.

Secondary Outcome Measures
:

Number of days of competitive employment or studying [ Time Frame: 24 months ]

Competitive employment includes being on rehabilitation benefits, flexible jobs and wage subsidy jobs. Information on employment and education will be extracted from the DREAM database. The database is administered by The National Labour Market Authority and contains information on employment, sickness leave, educations eligible to state education grant, pre-vocational training, disability pension, social security, and sickness benefits.

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Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years to 60 Years (Adult)

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Diagnosed following the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) criteria of affective disorder (F30-39) or anxiety disorder (F40-41)